Editor's note: In honor of Manitowoc Lincoln's 1968 boys state basketball championship, this story is written as if it were one of the Ships' games 50 years ago.

MANITOWOC — Things did not go the Manty Ships way Friday night against the Red Raiders of Pulaski.

The Shipbuilders’ starting quintet was down four regular starters, who were forced to ride the pine due to injury.

Despite the disadvantage, a raucous crowd filled the John F. Kennedy physical education unit on a night of celebration as six new members were inducted into the Manty Wall of Fame.

The evening, though, took a somber tone as the home cagers fell behind 7-0 early en route to a 52-31 defeat at the hands of the Red Raiders in Fox River Classic Conference action.

“We didn’t play very well tonight,” Lincoln coach Thadd Cornell said. “We’ve shot the ball well lately, but tonight was not one of those nights for us. Against a team like Pulaski that’s essential.”

Playing against league-leading Pulaski, the Manty mentor knew his team couldn’t afford to fall behind.

“Being down to Pulaski by 10 is like being down 50,” Cornell said.

Stuck in molasses

The Ships offense was unable to navigate its way out of harbor in the early going, controlling the ball for almost a minute on its opening possession yet couldn’t find the bottom of the net.

Pulaski’s first points came via the charity stripe as Trevor Stiede was fouled beyond the arc before converting all three tosses.

Manty went over three and a half minutes without scoring, but with the help of sophomore guard Josh Hoffman, Lincoln shrugged off the slow start as Hoffman hit his first two shots and the first five points for his team.

The first basket helped give the sophomore confidence, he said.

“Felt good, got a few shots to fall,” Hoffman said. “Knocking down my first shot really helped. Just had to keep shooting and looking for shots.”

The Pulaski advantage grew to 17-7 midway through the first half before Lincoln began to chip away.

Hoffmann hit his second 3-pointer of the game to stem the tide before teammate Brayden Broecker stepped up on both ends of the court.

The senior shined bright on Senior Night, scoring a layup on offense before snagging a defensive board which led to a trey by freshman Mason Dopirak which pulled Lincoln within 21-20.

The only lead of the game for the Ships came on a terrific play by sophomore Davis Heinzen, who caught a wide open pass near the right sideline and drove the baseline for an easy put in.

“We were excited,” Hoffman said. “We wanted to keep it going but just couldn’t.”

Two quick Pulaski buckets allowed the Red Raiders to regain the lead going into halftime.

Hot-handed foe

Pierce Narges spent the first half mostly watching for Pulaski, missing his only charity toss and heading into halftime scoreless.

Coming out of the locker room, Narges turned into the embodiment of the swashbuckling Red Raiders mascot.

The senior plundered the Ships defense, tallying 12 points in the second half including the first four as the Pulaski lead grew.

The closest Lincoln got after halftime was a 12-point deficit at 41-29, which soon grew to 45-29 and led to a Shipbuilders timeout with 6:24 remaining.

“Sometimes the ball just doesn’t go in,” Cornell said. “We had three guards coming in shooting more than 50 percent from the 3-point line and tonight they didn’t do that so that’s how it goes sometimes.”

Dropping anchor

Comfortable with their lead, the visiting cagers spread the floor and allowed the clock to wind down as four minutes would tick away before Pulaski’s Brock Egnarski made a charity toss at the 2:14 mark.

“We knew we had to have some form of a lead or be close otherwise they were going to go to that and they’re so good with the ball it’s a problem,” Cornell said.

In total, Manty was limited to just nine points after coming out of the locker rooms as Hoffman ended the game with 11 points to lead the Ships, while Broecker added eight and Heinzen seven.

“We had four kids sitting on the bench who were starters so we’ve had a lot of kids move in and out of that lineup," Cornell said. "I give these kids a lot of credit for bouncing back and week after week after week with new kids coming in.”

Lincoln’s mentor refused to go too negative.

“For a team picked last in the conference, I think they’ve done a great job. Tonight wasn’t our night, that’s that,” he said.

1968: A championship season

The sport of basketball has undergone drastic changes in the last 50 years.

Players were called cagers, wore sport coats and ties to school on game days while coaches were referred to as mentors.

There were no 3-point lines, and glass backboards were considered a rarity.

What hasn’t changed is the love Manitowoc has for the Lincoln Ships boys basketball team, especially the 1968 squad that ended the campaign a perfect 26-0 and was crowned WIAA state champions.

Through a series of stories and videos, USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin sports reporter Tom Dombeck will bring that championship season back to life with thoughts from all 12 players from the team, head coach Ed Fleener and former Herald Times sports editor Jerry Zigmund.

He’ll look at the season as a whole with companion stories detailing the state championship against Beloit, what the players and Fleener were up to following their days at Lincoln, as well as a summer basketball camp in Beaver Dam during the summer of 1967 which set the stage for what was to come.